The Secret of the Old Clock: Nancy Drew Mystery #1

by Carolyn Keene

Carson Drew, a noted criminal and mystery-case lawyer, known far and wide for his work as a former district attorney, looked up from his evening paper and smiled indulgently upon his only daughter. Now, as he gave her his respectful attention, he was not particularly concerned with the Richard Topham family but rather with the rich glow of the lamp upon Nancy’s curly golden bob. Not at all the sort of head which one expected to indulge in serious thoughts, he told himself.

Wow! Just wow!

“If Abigail can’t help me, I’m at the end of my string,” Nancy thought, as she rapped on the front door.

"End of my string" new one to me

Like most girls, she had never interested herself in the mechanics of what made wheels go around.

This is not the Nancy I remember from my books in the 60s and 70s. Have I forgotten?